Mark Waters' fortune cookie, ironically, did not predict a follow-up chapter in his fortune-telling journey. The filmmaker, who steering the 2003 original "Freaky Friday," revealed in an August 15 interview with Variety that despite the reassembly of the original cast, encompassing Lindsay Lohan as Anna, Jamie Lee Curtis as Tess, Chad Michael Murray as Jake, Stephen Tobolowsky as Mr. Bates, and Ryan Malgarini as Harry, he was notably absent from the director's chair for the 2025 sequel, "Freakier Friday." "Regrettably, I was sidelined from the festivities," Mark lamented. "I even offered myself up, expressing a yearning to be involved in some form, potentially as a guiding figure or executive producer. Nevertheless, no invitation was forthcoming."
Even so, the director behind "Mean Girls" admitted candidly that he had "never truly pondered" the idea of a sequel and maintained a positive outlook upon learning that the comedic continuation, released on August 8, would proceed without him. "I am fully supportive of them making a fantastic new film," he explained, referring to the sequel directed by Nisha Ganatra. "It would have been wonderful to be part of it, but since I couldn't, I had to make peace with it."
Furthermore, the 61-year-old believes his talents are best harnessed in crafting timeless narratives. "I must devote my energy to relentlessly creating fresh, original hits that people will yearn to remake in two decades," Mark elaborated. "That is my current priority. One cannot linger on the projects they do not undertake."
Moreover, he still felt the warmth emanating from the original "Freaky Friday" cast members. "I received messages from several cast members during filming, inquiring, 'Where on earth are you, Waters?'" Mark shared, jokingly adding that he replied, "I haven't deserted you! My sincere apologies."
Additionally, he hasn't completely ruled out the possibility of collaborating once more with Lindsay, whom he also directed in the 2004 teen classic "Mean Girls." "We recently reconvened in New York when she was shooting a Netflix film," Mark revealed. "When we caught up, we did muse about how delightful it would be to find a pretext to work together again."
